She seems to relax marginally. “Okay… I want to—” Her voice cuts out on a choked laugh, tears filling her eyes. “I already made my son think I wouldn’t love him because of who he loves. I don’t—uh… I want to get this right.”
“It’s okay, Mom,” Landon says softly.
Mary shakes her head. “It’s not okay, Lan. If you worried for even a second that you could change my love for you, I’ve done something wrong, but this is not about me. This is aboutyouand what you need.”
Ben leans forward on the couch. “My younger sibling is nonbinary. I can send Landon some resources to share with you, if you’d like. I know PFLAG has some information about faith-based support. It could help with understanding not only Parker but Landon too.”
Her brown eyes—so warm and earnest, just like Landon’s—widen. “Yes, please. Yes.”
“Maybe it’s not my place,” I say, throat tight. “But thank you. For listening to him and for supporting him.”
Tears well up in her eyes and spill down her cheeks.
“Mom,” Landon whispers.
She wipes at her face, then gives herself a little shake. “Okay. Enough tears. I want to get to know you better. All of you. Do you think you could stay for dinner? I’ll cook.”
“I think that would be nice,” Ben says. “Do you wanna stay, baby?”
“Yeah,” Landon says. “If it’s okay with the two of you.”
I’m nodding before he’s even done speaking.
Shiny gold wraps around my heart, blanketing everything in hope. In love. In warmth.
“I miss Landon.”
I’m not pouting. I mean, okay, I kinda am. But not really.
Ben drags his fingertips along my nightgown. “Me too, Cotton Candy.”
Rolling away from Ben, I grab my phone.
Me
We miss you.
His response comes in a few minutes later.
Landon
i miss you both too. so much. thank you for today.
After the long, emotional day at Mary’s, Landon decided to stay the night. Which… I get it. I’m happy things went okay. Mary only misgendered me once, and she quickly corrected herself. She didn’t even trip over her apologies. It’s not that I fault people for apologizing, but it always leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I feel likeIhave to reassure them.
It wasn’t like that with Mary, though. She just said a quick apology, corrected herself, and we all moved on.
Me
You don’t have to thank us.
“Tell him we love him, and we can’t wait to see him tomorrow.”
I grin, typing another message.
Me
Ben said love you and we can’t wait to see you tomorrow.
